Sweet and sour pork has always been my favourite Chinese take-out food. I am sure I have already said this, but I am a big fan of anything sweet and sour. It must be my Sicilian genes (it is a common cooking style over there) or my love for vinegar… whatever the case I never fail to order this whenever we order Chinese food. Since I started blogging I have been trying to recreate all my favourite dishes at home and I have been much more adventurous when it comes to what I would attempt to cook. Until a year ago I would have been scared of trying to cook Chinese food!! Way out of my comfort zone! But l can tell you… I have found the perfect recipe for sweet and sour pork. I am not saying it is “real Chinese food”, but it definitely tastes better than the take-out stuff and my family LOVES it! I haven’t ordered any more sweet and sour pork since I first made this!
Recipe adapted from Rasa Malaysia
Ingredients (for 4 people)
500 gms – 1 lb. pork tenderloin (cut into bite size pieces)
FOR THE MARINADE
3 teaspoon soy sauce
1 teaspoon corn flour
FOR THE BATTER
1/2 cup water (to be added little by little)
60 gms – 4 tbsp all-purpose flour
30 gms – 2 tbsp corn starch
1 tsp baking soda
1 egg
2 tsp vegetable oil
1 small pinch of salt
FOR THE STIR FRY & FRITTERS
1/2 green capsicum (cut into pieces)
1/2 red capsicum (cut into pieces)
2 green onions (only the white part is needed, sliced)
200 gms – 7 oz. canned pineapple pieces
1 clove garlic (finely chopped)
Vegetable Oil for frying
FOR THE SWEET AND SOUR SAUCE:
Recipe adapted from here
1/2 cup water
5 tbsp rice vinegar
5 tbsp sugar
2 tbsp ketchup
2 tbsp soy sauce
1/4 tsp salt
2 tsp cornstarch dissolved in 2 tbsp cold water
Mix together all the ingredients for the marinade. Cut the pork tenderloin into pieces and marinate them for 15-20 minutes.
Mix the sweet and sour sauce ingredients and set aside.
To make the batter, mix the dry ingredients together and then add the egg, vegetable oil and water to form a thick batter. NOTE: add the water little by little, as you may require a little less than ½ cup.
When the pork is well marinated, transfer it into the batter and coat each piece well. Deep fry the pork pieces until they turn golden brown over a medium heat. When cooked, drain on paper towels. Keep it warm in the oven.
Heat up a wok and add some vegetable oil. Add in the chopped garlic and stir fry until light brown, then put in the capsicum and pineapple pieces.
Stir fry for a couple of minutes and then add the sweet and sour sauce (without the corn starch mixture) (1). Let the mixture come to a boil. Reduce the heat and simmer for about 1 minute, stirring, to allow the flavors to blend. Stir in the cornstarch mixture (2) and heat until the sauce is glossy and tastes cooked through (3). Turn off the heat and cover to keep warm.
Put the pork fritters in a serving plate and pour the sweet and sour sauce on the top.
Serve hot with some sliced green onions on top and steamed white rice or fried rice on the side.
I learned how to make a version of this when I took a cooking class in China! It is my husbands favorite!! Yours looks so amazing, much better than take out!!
As I am writing this my mouth is literally watering:)) Love how you made this and it looks absolutely divine!!
This looks so much better than take-out!! I will have to make this soon since we miss Chinese food! 🙂
We make the “batter” the same way, and we learned that in China. Looks like a great dish 🙂 Other than the ketchup, all ingredients make perfect sense, if you’re going for “authentic” Chinese.
We don’t really have a good Chinese restaurant in our neighborhood, so having good recipes like this that I can make at home is priceless! I love Sweet and sour pork and just happen to have every ingredient except the green onion. Easy substitution! Of course I have to be careful because those delicious pork fritters may not make it into the sauce. 🙂
I know it won’t be the same… but I SOOOOO want to make this with tofu instead of pork. And I HEART these photos… the colors are so vibrant! 😀
My mouth is literally watering- I can totally taste the sweet and sour flavors just by looking at your pics Manu! YUM!
Wow, Manu, these fritters look delicious 🙂
Yum, I love sweet and sour as well – it’s just so nice when you get the balance of flavours right. Yours looks amazing, well done!
This does look like a fantastic version of one of my favorite dishes. After viewing these dishes, you just cannot help but crave this for dinner. Another great meal Manuela-yum!
Delicious … sai che alcuni anni fa facevo una ricetta molto simile … la facevo con pollo invece di maiale, (anche se la ricetta era con maiale) …
… proprio l’altro giorno la cercavo per un progetto che ho in mente per le bimbe … l’ho cercato dappertutto, ma non l’ho trovata … la tua ricetta diventerà la nostra nuova ricetta per “Sweet and Sour” Chicken a casa J!
This looks oh so good, Manu. I’m a bit of a Sweet n Sour Pork fiend so definitely trying this. Looks much healthier than the takeaway too! Love the colourful photos.
That looks way better than the sweet and sour pork you get in restaurants! Great job and thanks for sharing!
This looks soooooo good Manu! Congratulations on top 9! 🙂
I love take out Chinese food, but I love to recreate the dishes at home too. I like being able to control the ingredients so I don’t feel so guilty. It’s funny when you are afraid to make different types of cuisine, but when you actually try, you see how easy it is. These pork fritters look amaizing!
Love Bee’s Chinese food recipes – very good taste. Congrats on top 9 Manu! My kids and I just ate this at a Chinese restaurant last week. It’s kids’ favorite!
Wow, that looks pretty authentic to me. I have never been to China but it looks like the kind you order in a Chinese restaurant, if not better.
Manu congrats on top 9. This is one amazing and tempting meal. I have to bookmark this one. Just looks so darn good.
Buono Manu, diverso e sicuramente migliore di quello servito in tanti ristoranti o take away!!
This is one of my favorite Chinese dishes also. Yours looks amazing and I’m looking forward to surprising my family with this one.